Self Improvement

9 personal finance mistakes to avoid….

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All of us have made these mistakes, so let’s begin by seeing how many of them we can avoid/minimise…

I am normally a person who likes to say ‘be careful’ rather than say ‘do not break it’. The mind always sticks to the most important word — so the ‘break’ sticks in our head. However there are a few mistakes that I have been seeing and hearing from IFAs, websites, etc. and think it is necessary to summarise them in one place.

1. Optimism

This is a lovely thing to have, except when it comes to investing. When people invest in equities they have some outlandish expectation — say 28 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) or 17 per cent CAGR. No clue who gives them such ‘lofty’ expectations. Yes, some of us have got it in the past, but hey we have perhaps just been lucky.

A Rakesh Jhunjhunwala or a Vallabh Bhansali have got much higher returns, but you have no clue about the efforts and team work that has gone behind all this. A Naren Sankaran (Of ICICI) or a Motilal Oswal is perhaps capable of getting far better returns, but their risk taking capacity and sheer size of funds managed puts a huge limitation to the returns.

So please temper your expectations.

Just because you expect less it does not mean you will not get it. Keep your expectations at a far more realistic 20-25 per cent OVER PPF returns — so if you get 8 per cent in PPF, expect to earn about 10-11 per cent over a long period of time, tax free. It can do magic to your portfolio over say 50 years like it has done for some of us early starters.

2. Risk and return

The fact that you take more risks DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO GET greater returns. It is not your RIGHT; it is just that the odds favour you. If it were so certain, there would be no risk at all. Long term can mean really long term — say 13 years and you may have just lost patience after 12 years and 5 months.

Be very clear that for goals that are 7-8 years away equity is a good investment, but you will need a back up plan just in case it backfires.

3. Consumerism

Buying every shiny thing on the store shelf or on Amazon and Flipkart are not the way to create wealth. When you feel like buying something, wait. Think of the last 5 items that you bought and what you did with that. Clearly the manufacturer and the shop keeper want you to buy all that is made and displayed. It is up to you not to do so.

Investing more and for a longer period is the only route to a great portfolio.

4. Complications

Planners love to complicate things, ignore complex plans. Simpler plans are far superior.

5. Inertia

Good and noble intentions will not protect your family or create wealth for you. So get off your backside and get that term insurance, medical insurance, provident fund nomination form, …NOW and start your investing programme, NOW.

If you do not believe this, see the amount of money lying in bank deposits, savings banks, post offices around the country!

Even better see your own savings bank account and see how much of interest has been credited. Kickass start.

6. Impulsive actions…

…while in spending, investing, saving, eating and health issues only lead to pain later on. Learn some meditation and act in leisure. Relax, do not get bullied by bankers, contractors, salesmen, cousins, friends, television experts — by anybody.

Collect all the data, and then sleep over it for a day. Take a decision after a few hours, preferably 24 hours. Do not believe the agent who says “this scheme is closing…” Some agents have been using it for the past X number of years and doing it very successfully. When you have the money, a new scheme is born every day. Usually in a better form.

7. Ask

Ask the people who know before you invest. Parachutes are to be on your back BEFORE you eject from the plane, it cannot be sent to you mid air…

8. Greed

If you have invested in 50,000 shares of a company at Rs 30 a share and the price goes up to Rs 50 in two weeks time, great. Partial booking — of say 1000 shares every time a share jumps an X per cent is not a bad idea at all.

It is only the owners who can ride a share from its start to eternity — like a Premji or a Narayana Moorthy can/ will do. Yes there are many theories here, but hey, greed kills more than it makes you go. Be careful.

9. Mess

Do you have 40 items in a portfolio worth Rs 1 crore? You are a mess. You need to have no more than five. Okay make it 8, but not more. So please prune the mess, and clean it up.

Source………P V Subramanyam in www. rediff.com

Natarajan

 

Message for the Day…….” Hearts filled with the nectar of love indicate genuine humanity in people “…..

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Humans are those who consider love as the only quality to be fostered and stay away from inferior qualities as if they are snakes. Bad conduct and bad habits distort the humanness of people. Hearts filled with the nectar of love indicate genuine humanity in people. True love is unsullied, unselfish, devoid of impurity, and continuous. The difference between human(manava) and demon (danava) is only ‘ma’ and ‘da’! The letter ‘ma’ is soft, sweet, and immortal in symbolism, while the sound ‘da’ is merciless, lawless, and burning. Are they humans who have no sweetness in them and who endeavour to suppress the craving for immortality? Theirs is the nature of demons, though the form is human! For, it is the character and not the form which is primary. Good nature is resplendent on the faces of true humans as bliss (ananda). But without that goodness, even if they are infatuated with joy, the face will indicate only the destructive fire of the demon; they won’t have the grace of spiritual bliss.

Sathya Sai Baba

Message For the Day…” The path of dharma mandates that you give up hatred against others and cultivate mutual concord and amity…”

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Whatever you are dealing with, you must first grasp its real meaning. Then, you have to cultivate it daily, for your benefit. By this means, wisdom grows and lasting joy is earned. The two basic things everyone must be super clear are dharma and karma (action). Righteousness(Dharma) has no prejudice or partiality; it is imbued with truth and justice. So if you choose to adhere to dharma, you must see that you never go against it. It is wrong to deviate from it. The path of dharma mandates that you give up hatred against others and cultivate mutual concord and amity. Through concord and amity, the world will grow, day by day, into a place of happiness. If these practices are well established, the world will be free from disquiet, indiscipline, disorder, and injustice. The wise, who are impartial and unprejudiced and have resolved to follow Dharma, must walk on the path of truth (sathya).

Sathya Sai Baba

Message for the Day…”Among Sacrifices [yajnas], I am the Repetition of Name(nama-yajnas)”…Lord Krishna in Gita…

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Lord Krishna declared in the Gita, “Among sacrifices(yajnas), I am the repetition of the name (nama-yajna).” For curing grief and earning joy, temples where the name of God can be remembered are very essential. Remembering the name (smarana) grants bliss; there is nothing more fruitful, charming or blissful than this activity! Sage Vyasa wondered, “Having the great yet simple name, on the ever available tongue, and the temple where His enchanting image is installed so that people can sing His glory in an exalted voice… why should people hasten toward the gates of hell?” So too, Saint Tulsidas, who lived constantly in the temple and sang of the joy he tasted, lamented, “Alas! When people give up the name and the temple, and seek peace and joy in other places, I am reminded of the foolishness of those who forsake the rich and tasty fare on their plates and beg with outstretched hands for the remains from other’s plates!”

Sathya Sai Baba

” Never underestimate your Mother …” !!!

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Never underestimate Moms!

Things were going exactly as Srinivasan had feared, his Mother would come in from India and crush his American way of life under her strong South Indian influence. For a genetic scientist like Vasu, as Srinivasan was called by his friends, the only kind of order was disorder. So consumed he was by his research that the world and it’s affairs mattered little to him. When his last girlfriend walked out on him, “Find a girl on planet Srinivasan,” she had screamed as she stomped out.

Now Vasu’s Mother had taken over the administration of the planet. It irritated him, this milk at night and chyawanprash every morning. “Have you been wearing the same pair of Jeans for the past three days?” Mother was beginning her morning interrogation.

Vasu stared at the hot idlis in front of him, the chywanprash to follow and the wardrobe interrogation that had begun. Something snapped in his mind. “Mom I love you and I love that you come all the way from India to take care of me but please don’t fuss over me! It irritates me!  And then I cannot work!”

His Mother did not really care if Vasu was upset, “The idlis are getting cold,” was her matter of fact response.

“You don’t really care, do you Mom?”

“I care about you Vasu. The work you do is alright. If you don’t do it, someone else will do it.”
“Mom, I am a genetic scientist. I am working on the evolution of man. Theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, have you heard of him? ” Vasu was exasperated with her unwillingness to understand.

His Mother sat down next to him and smiled, “I know Darwin, Vasu. I also know that what you think he discovered, was old news in India.”

“Yeah sure Mom!” Vasu said with sarcasm.

“Well if you are too smart then listen to this,” his Mother countered.” Have you heard of the Dashavatara ? The ten avataras of Vishnu ?” Vasu nodded. “Then let me tell you what you and Mr. Darwin don’t know.

The first avatara was the Matsya avatara, it means the fish. That is because life began in the water. Is that not right ?” Vasu began to listen with a little more attention..

“Then came the Kurma avatara, which means the tortoise, because life moved from the water to the land. The amphibian. So the Tortoise denoted the evolution from sea to land.

Third was the Varaha avatara, the wild boar, which meant wild animals with not much intellect, you call them the Dinosaurs, correct ?” Vasu nodded wide eyed.

“The fourth avatara was the Narasimha avatars, half man and half animal, the evolution from wild animals to intelligent beings.

Fifth was the Vamana avatara, the midget or the dwarf, who could grow really tall. Do you know why that is so ? Because there were two kinds of humans, Homo Erectus and the Homo Sapiens and Homo Sapiens won that battle.” Vasu could see that his Mother was in full flow and he was stupefied.

“The Sixth avatara was Parshurama, the man who wielded the axe, the man who was a cave and forest dweller. Angry, and not social but the seventh avatara was Ram, the first thinking social being, who laid out the laws of society and the basis of all relationships.

The eighth avatara was Krishna, the statesman, the politician, the lover who played the game of the society and taught how to live and thrive in the social structure.

The Ninth avatara,was Balarama the man who rose from Narasimha and found man’s true nature.

And finally, my boy, will come Kalki, the man you are working on. The man who will be genetically supreme.”

The last Avatar is yet to appear, and in many versions of the mythology, the ninth incarnation is mentioned as Lord Buddha. But this is a much later addition done at a time when the concept of Dashavatara was already fully developed.

Vasu looked at his Mother speechless. “This is amazing Mom, how did you.. This makes sense !”

“Yes it does Vasu ! Now have your chyawanaprash ! ”

source……input from a friend of mine
Natarajan

” மஹா விஷ்ணுவும் , கொசுவும் ஒண்ணு …..” !!!

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ஒரு நாள் மடத்தில் உள்ளவர்களிடம்,” மகா விஷ்ணுவும்

கொசுவும் ஒண்ணு, உனக்குத் தெரியுமா?” என்றார் பெரியவா.

வழக்கம்போல் தானே அந்தப் புதிரையும் விடுவிக்கிறார்.

“விஷ்ணுவின் கையில் சக்கரம் சுற்றிக்கொண்டிருக்கு,கொசுவும்

சக்கரமாய் சுற்றிக்கொண்டுதான் இருக்கு.

கெட்டவர்கள் விஷ்ணுவைப் பார்க்க முடியாமல் ஒதுங்கிக் கொள்வார்கள்.

கண் வலிக்காரர்கள் கொசுவைப் பார்க்க முடியாமல் ஒதுங்கி விடுவார்கள். ச்ருதியிடம் விளையாடுபவர்

விஷ்ணு. [ச்ருதி=வேதம்] ச்ருதி முனையில் ஙொய் என்று கத்திக்கொண்டு விளையாடும் கொசு [ச்ருதி=காது]!”

இந்த சிலேடை சொன்னதுக்குக் காரணம் மடத்தோடு

அவர்கள் இருந்த முகாமில் கொசுத்தொல்லை தாங்க முடியாது.

“அனந்தசயனம் பண்ணும் பெருமாள்தான் கொசுன்னு

நினைச்சுண்டேன்னா, பகவத் ஸ்மரணையோடு தூங்கலாம்!” என்று எல்லோரையும் சமாதானம் செய்வாராம்.

இப்படி எந்தக் கஷ்டத்தையும் நகைச்சுவை ததும்ப சரி செய்துவிடும் அழகையும் பெரியவாளிடம் அனுபவிக்க முடியும்.

ஒரு நீண்ட உபன்யாசம் நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தது. பெரியவாளும் கேட்டார். ஒரு வழியாக உபன்யாசம் முடிந்தது.உடனே பெரியவா”சாக்கு கிடைச்சுதுன்னு நன்னா ரொம்ப நேரம் சொன்னயா?”என்றார்: “நீ ஒக்காந்துண்டிருந்தது ஒரு சாக்குமேலே…அந்த சாக்கைச் சொன்னேன்!” என்று தமாஷ் பண்ணினாராம்

Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/10869/#ixzz3wPgbz2Ii

Source ……..www.perivaproboards.com

Natarajan

 

Message for the Day…” Only one who has so filled themselves with love and who lives in the light of that love deserves to be called human.”

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Humans are full of love (prema). Their hearts are springs of mercy. They are endowed with true speech. Peace is the characteristic of the mind of humans. It is the innate quality of the mind. Do not search for peace outside. Just as gold and silver lie hidden under the earth, and pearl and coral under the sea, peace and joy lie hidden in the activities of the mind. If you desire to acquire these hidden treasures, dive deep and turn your mental activities inward, you will become full of love. Only one who has so filled themselves with love and who lives in the light of that love deserves to be called human. Those devoid of love are demons and monsters. Within every man, the holy quality of love is ever present, without change. It is one and indivisible. Those saturated with love are incapable of spite, selfishness, injustice, wrong, and misconduc

Sathya Sai Baba

Message for the Day….” The fog of illusion melts away with the touch of Rays of God’s Grace…”

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Temples are invitations and signboards directing people to their Divine home. Temples are intended to instruct people in the art of removing the veil of attachment that lies over their heart. That is why Tyagaraja cried in the temple at Tirupathi, “Remove the veil within me, the veil of pride and hate.” The fog of illusion (maya) melted away with the touch of the rays of grace. Then he sang out describing the image of divine charm in the song, “Sivudavo Madhavudavo”; he drank deep the sweetness of that form. The churning of his heart by the divine formula produced the spark of wisdom(jnana), and it grew into the flame of realisation. On one occasion, Lord Sri Ramachandra spoke thus: “Dawn breaks and dusk falls. With dawn, greed awakes in people; with dusk, lust gets hold of them. Is this to be your goal and way of life? With every passing day, you are nearing one step closer towards the cave of death, missing precious opportunities. Do you ever worry over a wasted day?”

Sathya Sai Baba

Message for the Day….””Cultivate an ounce of pure devotion! That is sufficient for you to be awakened from the delusion…”

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Many dull-witted moderns are puzzled at the purpose of all the constructions and conditions, conventions and customs that revolve around the temple. They cannot grasp the significance of any answer because it is beyond their limited understanding. A patient suffering from high fever will find even sweet things bitter; so too, those afflicted with the high fever of worldliness can never taste the real sweetness of truth. The fever must subside; then they can appreciate the value of the things of the spirit. Similarly if you deny yourself of the bliss derivable from surrender to the Lord, and run about madly pursuing sacred spots, sages, and holy rivers, how can you be helped? Cultivate an ounce of pure devotion! That is sufficient for you to be awakened from this delusion! Devotion will teach you that you can attain peace only by returning to your own native home, which is God within you. Until then, homesickness will haunt!

Sathya Sai Baba